I think its just a matter of time and HP will preload Ubuntu on Servers… I know at least two companies (one of them >1000 staff) already using Ubuntu on HP ProLiant hardware…

@Zac: Server doesnt needs a GUI! And anyway, as long as there is no graphical administration tool like yast you have to tweak config files anyway.

Does anyone has found this list of certified ProLiant configuration?

Here’s the paradox as I see it. With virtualization and utility computing on the rise…there might be a very distinct market split in terms of the deployment stats of linux based operating systems used as host operating system compared to the demographics of guest systems. What is required in a virtualized guest and what is required in a host running many such virtualized guests can be very different both in terms of specific features and the level of support guarantees. Do you think that Canonical has a chance at being the support provider to the companies like Amazon for the machines actually hosting the cloud? In the face of competition from Red Hat who is putting the hard work in things like SVirt…is Canonical really got a chance at being deployed on the iron anchoring the clouds? In a value for money proposition, how valuable are Canonical’s support services really for cloud providers.. for people who are willing to pay for support in a very big way?

If Canonical is serious about being the leader in guest operating systems in a utility computing world, it may actually be counter-productive to certify against physical hardware. But on the other hand, Canonical really hasn’t shown that they can make money off of supporting guests in a cloud environment, so they may have to claw away at traditional server deployments as an understood revenue stream in direct competition with Red Hat and Novell. Even though by their own vision of the future, small businesses are going to be purchasing less of their own iron and relying on utility computing services. In a utility world, even if Canonical has HUGE deployment numbers for virtualized guest instances… Red Hat and Novell may still be out performing them as a business by providing the hosting solutions that cloud providers rely on.

-jef

Also, no where in the article do I say HP preloads SUSE or Red Hat. But no doubt HP has a much closer working relationship with Novell and Red Hat compared to the HP-Canonical relationship… which is just starting.

I understand your point, though. If you’re just skimming the article I seem to be suggesting that HP has server preload relationships with Red Hat and Novell but not with Canonical. I apologize for allowing readers to reach that potential conclusion.

Instead, Canonical should promote GUI-based LAMP server and go head-on against Microsoft as an easy-to-manage but less expensive alternative to Windows Server. Plus, try to grab some Unix shops that want to migrate to Linux.

If Canonical is trying to take share from NOVL and Red Hat on the server by competing head-on against those Linux distributions, I think it’s a very steep uphill battle.

The server edition needs a GUI and with it can be aimed for enterprise and home.

Don’t get me wrong; I use Ubuntu on the desktop, and Debian on servers when I can get away with it. But when the boss demands a “supported” Linux, I end up with SLES, because we aren’t going to run a $40k vertical app or DB engine on an uncertified system. Then the other less-Linux-savvy admins start making comments about why we don’t standardize on SLES instead of having multiple distros to deal with.

But the, even with ISV support, how is Canonical planning to compete? The prices I’ve seen for support are significantly higher than the competition, and the product isn’t as mature. On top of that, they’re moving away from graphical tools instead of toward them (I know, GUIs don’t belong on servers etc etc). What’s the selling point for ubuntu server?

Firstly because its aimed at unix/linux admins with 2+ years of experience administering systems. That set of prereq experience right there seems to make a large chunk of the course material sort of redundant.

The get familiar with the Debian packaging system stuff is probably the most useful information..as its the only thing a 2+ year on the job Red Hat system admin hasn’t really had an opportunity to work with as part of the day job. Most everything else, they’ve had an opportunity to work with.

Secondly… students get free landscape accounts and some hands on with the management services. This is the one bullet point that absolutely must be taught well for Canonical to gain significant benefit from the training. Its the landscape service that differentiates their product offering. Most of the training is general task oriented linux administration. Skills the students can take to any distribution and use. ven the Debian packaging stuff is a skillset is a general skill. But getting familiar with lanscape..in a comfortable instructor led environment…that is Canonical’s hook into support contract sales…sales Canonical needs to make to make a server push sustainable.

I wonder, how long do they get free landscape access for? The syllabus doesn’t say. Longer than the current 60 trial Landscape is running? Do they get to keep using that access for a significant amount of time to use with an Ubuntu server deployment at work? The most important statistic to watch is how many of those freebie landscape accounts get renewed as paying landscape access accounts on down the road. Sadly, Canonical doesn’t really like talking about how many paying versus free landscape users it has on the books.

-jef